Road to Nowhere
by NOTagentsofnothing420
Summary: A Series of individual, stand alone short stories about the men of The Avengers and their complicated love lives. COMPLETED :D This is what my OC drabbles turn into, so I put them together. Rated M for language, and suggested suggestions. ;)
1. Bruce & Whitney

**A/N: IMPORTANT! READ THIS!**

**this is a series of short drabble-y nothings about the OC women in the lives of each male member of the Avengers.**

**Each has ABOSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH THE OTHER. **

**So, hope you like it! if you think one of these should be continued, feel free to let me know. **

**Im always open to new story suggestions and things, so please don't hesitate :)**

**Also, I think my favorite out of all of these if the Tony Stark/OC one, but that probably just because Iron Man & RDJ is my favorite thing in life anyway.**

**:)))**

**Rate and Review :D**

**ALSO! I own nothing, pleeeeease don't sue me if I forget to mention that. That would be unfortunate.**

**:D**

**THANK YOU!**

*** J ***

* * *

><p>Sample #5-37C<p>

They had finally done it. After months of research, experimenting, testing and retesting, before even coming close to having what they needed, Bruce had created a serum, that if taken once a day, would allow him to control his transformation. Putting the neatly printed label on the vial was just the icing on the cake for him.

All he needed was a little help from a friend, Dr. Whitney Vaughn, an expert in DNA and the latest gene splicing technology.

Whitney and Bruce met when he did a seminar at her university, being the girl who asked a ton of questions from her seat in the front row.

Whitney had always considered Bruce Banner the man of her dreams, inspired by his work even before she introduced herself when saw him in person.

That was years ago, before the PhDs and doctorates, before Bruce's accident with gamma radiation and the Chitauri in New York, and before she'd basically been bribed to come and work for Stark Industries from her peaceful life, hidden in plain sight, in downtown Tokyo working for a bioengineering company.

And unknowingly, agreeing to work alongside him, and live in the same building.

To her surprise, and Bruce's too, working in the lab together for the past few months was fun, and went by faster than either would have liked. It was a dream come true for Whitney, that Bruce actually appreciated her presence in the lab everyday, along with whatever help she could offer.

Looking around the empty lab, which Whitney had spent the afternoon decorating with confetti, balloons, and streamers, Bruce tried to imagine what it would be like here without her.

Now that her job is done, wouldn't she want to go home?

As hard as he tried, he couldn't picture it.

Whitney had done the impossible,

Made Bruce forget what it was like to work alone.

The automatic doors on his right slid open then, Whitney rushing into the lab with a plate of cupcakes and a smile, her short shoulder length golden blonde curls curled into haphazard ringlets, with a lock or two braided and clipped to the side.

He tried not to stare, or drool, but this was the first time he'd seen her dressed up.

Usually she stuck to jeans or sweatpants, cardigans and tank tops, but for their little celebration she planned to tell the team about their success, she wore a long, flowing green and white geometric print dress, with black wedge heels he estimated around four inches high, and for the first time since her valedictorian speech at her graduation, that she had convinced Bruce introduce her at, she was wearing make up, the tiniest bit of black lining the corners of her dark grey eyes and red staining her lips.

"You want a cupcake?" She asked, oblivious to his burning gaze, as she picked one up off the plate and started to peel the paper off.

He shook his head, afraid of what words might come out if he opened his mouth, and she shrugged before took a bite out of it and said with her mouth full, "I didn't make these for nothing, you know. If no one eats them, I will."

Bruce laughed, shaking his head as Whitney ungraciously wolfed down the rest of her cupcake, but when he heard the clicking of her shoes on the tile floor, he looked up from his shoes to find her tossing her cake wrapper in the garbage and walking over to him.

He started up at her as she stopped in front of him, before she extended her hand out to him, and when he took it and started to stand, Whitney called to the ceiling, "Jarvis, hit it buddy."

She pulled herself into him as Nora Jones' _Don't Know Why_ started to play through the pristine lab, with party decorations dotting the white with color, and though his brain was practically cracking down the middle from sensory overload, his body started slowly swaying with hers pressed against him.

She was smiling up at him, still short in her high heels, and lightly singing along to the song as they danced.

Whitney giggled when Bruce spun her, letting herself lean into him more as he pulled her back with one hand.

She never expected him to be this good, she loved to dance and never saw Bruce so much as tap a foot when she put on music during their time together in the lab.

He caught her off guard when he dipped her, letting out a squeak with a smile as one of her feet left the floor, the other sliding out from under her.

She couldn't hold back anymore. Before he could bring her back up, Whitney pressed her lips to his, and after he tensed briefly in shock, he was melting into her.

Only when she was standing, chest pressed against his, did they break apart.

Her sparkling grey eyes were staring up into his, brown irises ringed with green, and when she finally looked away, Whitney instantly blushed and buried her face into Bruce's chest, clutching his dark grey button down shirt as she tried to hide her face.

"Alright big guy!" Tony called from the doorway as he stepped into the lab, completely unphased as the rest of the team behind him stood gaping in awe of what just played out of front of them.

"Hey, are those Whitney's cupcakes?"


	2. Steve & Rayne

If someone told Steve Rodgers in 1938 that one day he would fall in love and marry a beautiful French-American girl covered in tattoos, and with a piercing on her bottom lip she had told him were called 'spider bites', he wouldn't have believed them.

Hell, if someone told him that while the aliens were flying out of the sky, Steve still wouldn't have believed it.

But there he was, standing under the altar as Rayne walked down the aisle towards him and the priest, her left arm covered in colorful inked flowers linked with her father's.

She was wearing a white cotton halter sundress, detailed with white flowers and through her matching white floral lace trimmed veil, Steve could see that she'd dyed her natural white blonde hair red white and blue.

Rayne's mother was already starting to cry in her seat in the front row, so she passed the two month old blonde haired baby boy to Natasha sitting next to her.

The assassin refused to be a bridesmaid with Darcy, Jane and Pepper, yet she's be Auntie Nat any day of the week.

Yeah, You could say Steve and Rayne's relationship was a bit unconventional.

They met during Steve's time off after the Chitauri attack, in Paris of all places, while Rayne was visiting her parents at their new flat, when she happened to bump into him on the street.

Well, it was more like crashed into him when she wasn't paying attention, but still, they met when she fell to the ground, spilling her iced coffee all over the both of them.

She never expected to fall for Captain America, but over the two months they spent together in the city of lights, Rayne couldn't stop herself. He was just so sweet, and honest, and had just as many scars on the inside as she did.

Steve was the missing piece of her fucked up puzzle. Marrying him in Central Park was beyond any childhood dream she had given up on.

And as she stood across from him holding her lace wrapped bouquet of red and blue roses with two white star-gazer lilies that looked almost like stars, Rayne knew that all the mistakes she had made in her life, led to finally making the right one and saying yes when he asked her to marry him.

Of course, that was over a year ago, before James was born.

She'd been tough, putting off the wedding until after their baby was born, but Steve knew that Rayne did everything untraditionally. That's what he loved about her, that she was his other half. The unconventional to his old-fashioned, like a splash of color in a black and white photo.

It might have gone against everything he knew, but as long as he had her as his girl, Steve really didn't give a fuck whether they were married or not before the baby came.

The woman of his dreams was having his baby, and now she was finally letting him put a ring on her stubborn finger.

That was all that mattered. His family.

When he pulled her veil over her old-fashioned pin-up victory curls of red white and blue, she smiled up at him through cherry red lips and whispered, "Hi."

She turned to Darcy behind her and gave her the bunch of flowers, before the priest joined their hands, Rayne's shaking slightly in Steve's as the ceremony started.

He could tell she was nervous, there were tons of people there and she was never one for attention like that. He could see her big hazel doe eyes staring up at his for support, so as he traced a circle on the back of her hand with his thumb, he mouthed the words 'I love you' and watched her eyes light up.

They decided against writing their own vows, because Rayne knew she would be sobbing uncontrollably trying to read something in front of all the people Tony invited, but she still teared up as they both said their I Dos.

"Rayne Chantel Morrison and Steven Grant Rogers," the priest finished with a smile, "By the power vested in me by the state of New York, and the United States of America, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride!"


	3. Thor & Izzy

Darcy tapped her fingers on her chin, deep in thought as she stared at her friend, the big blonde hammer wielding god, moping on his couch as he watched 'the unit of special victims', as he would say.

Since Jane broke it off with Thor, he hadn't been the same.

He had revealed to Darcy sometime later that he gave up everything in Asgard to stay on Earth with her, and for her to just go and smash his heart like that shocked even the science wrangler herself.

Yeah, sure, Jane had been through some shit since she hit Thor with her RV, but they all had.

Each team member had their own jacked up way they got here, as part of the Avengers team, but no one just disappeared like Jane.

Darcy didn't know whether they were still friends, or ever even were.

If she felt like that, she could only imagine how Thor was feeling.

She was startled when he stood, wondering when he'd put on shoes as he passed where she sat at the breakfast bar and headed for the door.

* * *

><p>Thor had to get out of the tower. He couldn't go back to Asgard, Heimdall would not hear his pleas.<p>

He settled on Central Park as an adequate escape, the breathtaking beauty of nature in the midst of the concrete jungle a sufficient place to clear his head.

It was dark, thankfully he wouldn't be noticed.

As he sat down on a bench overlooking a pond, illuminated by moonlight, setting down Mjölnir on the grass by his feet, Thor stared up at the night sky of New York City with longing.

Thor had always wanted a family, a wife he could watch his children grow into fine princes and princesses with.

He'd thought it to be Jane, more so after his mother, the queen, sacrificed herself to save her.

But he'd been wrong. Thor had more love for Jane that she ever did for him, despite their time together and apart.

Now that he'd given up everything for her, she didn't want him. He was at a loss.

How to continue, he hadn't a clue.

Until her.

"Excuse me," she called lightly as she hesitantly walked closer to him on his bench, her thick Gaelic accent sparking his interest as she added with a smile, "Is everything alright?"

Thor hadn't heard that accent in hundreds of years. To say he was stunned to hear it now, in New York City, coming from a short, blonde haired woman holding her shoes instead of wearing them, would be an understatement.

Her pale blue eyes searched his as she helped herself to the seat next to him, glancing down at his hammer as it rested up against the leg of the bench, and smiling back up at him.

"Well, I wasn't sure I would ever get the chance to thank you for saving my life," she laughed, setting her red and gold heels next to Mjölnir, "But here I am, so Thank You, Thor."

"It is my honor," he smiled, his eyes attracted to every movement she made, "but I'm afraid I don't recall."

"When the aliens started flying out of the sky, I was caught right in the middle. You flew down out of nowhere, smashed the ones around me with you hammer, and flew off again. I would be dead if you hadn't come along." She explained, her eyes lighting up as she told the part about him saving her. He smiled.

The battle against the Chitauri was a haze for him now, finding out his brother was alive and possessed by the Tesseract, only for him to die again and Jane to leave.

Up until now his mind had been a whirlwind.

With her, it was calm, clear, and he didn't even know her name.

"Who are you?" Thor asked breathlessly, in awe of the woman next to him, and she smiled as she said, "Isolde Donovan, but everyone just calls me Izzy."

He was captivated by her, as she convinced him to walk the path along the water with her, taking his huge hand with her tiny one as they stood from the bench, Mjölnir in his free hand and she carried her shoes with hers.

He admired every detail of her, from her short stature to the way the moonlight lit up long tresses fell over her shoulder like a golden waterfall, and the way her dainty fingers threaded through his as they walked together.

She didn't ask about Asgard, or joke about his proper manner of speech. She actually listened to him as he confided in her, about the loss of his mother, brother, and his reluctance to return to the tower.

Izzy was happy just to be in his presence, which he found fascinating.

She leaned into his side as they sat together in the lush green grass, his arm naturally going around her and pulling her closer.

In all the time he'd spent on Midgard, Thor never felt so at home.

"It has a name?" Izzy asked as she ran her manicure black nails along the engravings in the metal of his hammer, and Thor chuckled, making her smile even brighter.

"Mjölnir."

"Meerneerh." She tried to repeat, giggling as she failed miserably. Thor's laugh enveloped her like a warm blanket, wrapping her in comfort as it reverberated through her, leaning into him more.

"It has the magic of Odin engraved into it," he explained, indulging her curiosity about his prized possession, "Whoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor."

"Can I try?" Izzy asked quietly, running her small hand up the oversized handle as he answered, "As long as you don't hurt yourself, I don't see why not."

She was beaming as he set it on the grass in front of where she stood, taking a few steps back as she bent down to grip it.

His jaw dropped as Izzy lifted it with ease, spinning the handle in her hand a few times to find a good grip and laughing to herself in shock.

The electricity running through her was buzzing in her ears, but as she was struck with lightning a second later, she didn't feel it.

Her eyes met Thor's, his wide as he gaped at her, his jaw hanging open as his eyes deceived him.

Her armour was like his, the black metal accented by red and gold as it hugged her body, coming into an armour plate corset designed similar to his breastplate, and a red skirt, cut mid thigh for easy access to the daggers strapped to the outsides of them.

Izzy looked like a real Aesir warrior, a female version of himself really.

She was even more beautiful than before, if Thor thought that to be possible.

If he wasn't sure after the short time he'd spent with her, Thor knew at that moment her loved her, and that Heimdall was right to ignore him.

He never would've happened upon Isolde if he was back on Asgard.

She would have gone on wishing she could have thanked him for saving her life, completely oblivious to her hidden potential.

At this point, she still was.

"Lord's name!" Izzy gasped as she realized she wasn't in her jeans and black peacoat anymore and finally saw the custom armour that fit itself magically to her, her eyes shooting up to Thor's as she smiled through her tears and asked before her voice have out, "Is this really happening?"

Thor didn't have words for her.

He laughed as he choked up, crossings the space between them and hugging her around her tiny waist as he lifted her off the ground, the two of them laughing through tears as he spun her around.

She giggled lightly between sniffles as her arms wrapped around his neck and her legs around his hips, not giving a damn if her new skirt was riding up or showing anything.

They were alone in the grass of Central Park having the time of their lives.

Not a second after her feet touched the ground was he kissing her, his lips like heaven on earth as they moved slowly over hers.

Pulling away he leaned down to rest his forehead as he said, "I will make you my wife one day, Isolde, I swear it."

"Maybe we could just go to the movies first." She said with a smirk, before pressing her lips to his again.


	4. Clint & Zoey

Clint Barton tried not to stare from his seat at the bar, but since she bumped into her on her way to the small stage at the back of the dimly lit bar, he couldn't drag his eyes away from her.

Her light gray, almost violet eyes were so fucking familiar.

As she politely apologized, even though it was him who just about knocked her over, and walked away to a table with a guitar case in one of the chairs, Clint racked his brain trying to remember where he knew her from.

She must've looked different then, he assumed.

Her hair was dyed a brighter, bolder and darker red that Tasha's, he knew that was new.

The spotlight over the stage came on, revealing her setting up the mic in front of a stool.

He watched as she sucked in a shaky breath and put her guitar strap over her head, before she sat on the stool and adjusted the microphone stand a bit.

Under the light, her crimson curls looked like red silk falling well past her shoulders. She wasn't dressed up, only in a pair of skinny jeans and a white long sleeved lace shirt, but Clint was completely hypnotized by her.

If he didn't have first hand experience, he would've thought this is what mind control was like.

When her voice came over the shitty speaker system, he thought his heart might have stopped.

"Hi guys. I'm Zoey, and I'll be here for a while, so don't hesitate to request something. And like always, a big thanks to Andy for letting me play tonight."

"You got it, sis!" The bartender shouted from where he stood behind the bar, and Clint watched her smile as she looked down to the strings of her guitar.

He smirked when he recognized the song she was playing by the beginning chords, but it was when he heard her light, angelic singing, that he remembered her.

_"Please come now, I think I'm falling_

_I'm holding on to all I think is safe..._

_It seems I found the road to nowhere_

_And I'm trying to escape..._

_I yelled back when I heard thunder,_

_But I'm down to one last breath.._

_And with it let me say,_

_Let me say..._

_Hold me now,_

_I'm six feet from the edge and I'm thinking..._

_maybe six feet,_

_Ain't so far down..."_

* * *

><p><em><strong>***FLASHBACK***<strong>_

_They had to go, leave, run away. _

_They had to, Barney said so, and Clint believed his older brother. _

_Even if that meant leaving her behind in this horrible place._

_She would hate him. _

_He was breaking their promise. _

_He hadn't even left yet, and he already hated himself. _

_Barney told him they had twenty minutes until they were leaving, sneaking out the back window of the boys bedroom between bed checks. _

_Clint found her in her favorite spot, humming lightly as she read in the crawl space under the stairs up to the third floor, the girls group bedroom, with a tiny flashlight shining down onto the pages. _

_"Zoey." He whispered as he approached, watching her head shoot up at the sound of his voice, and smile brightly as she folded a corner of her page and closed the book. _

_But she must've noticed how sad he looked, and felt, because a second later, he was being pulled down by the hand to sit next to her as she asked in a whisper, "Clinton, what's wrong? Is everything okay?" _

_Her violet grey eyes welled with tears as he told her they were leaving, running away to the circus, hoping they would take both he and Barney. _

_She pleaded with him not to, and when he refused to stay, she demanded to go with him, hugging him tightly._

_In the end, she stood behind him and Barney as they crawled out the bedroom window, tears tracking down her cheeks as she said goodbye to him for what could be the last time she ever saw him._

_Clint hugged her from the outside of the window, letting her cry into his shoulder as he buried his face into her mousey brown hair. _

_"I love you, Clinton Francis Barton. Don't you ever forget it." She mumbled through her cries as she finally let him go, and with a final look into her beautiful eyes, he turned away from her for the last time and ran, following his brother into the woods behind the group home._

* * *

><p>The song ended, and Zoey smiled as the few patrons dotted throughout the bar clapped.<p>

"Thank you. I'll be taking a short break. Andy, would you get me a double?"

She set down her guitar and hopped off the stage, before weaving her way through some empty tables to the bar, and stood a few feet from Clint as she waited for her brother, Andy, to make her drink.

As she sat down and lit a cigarette from the pack at the end of the bar by the service entrance with the purple lighter from her back pocket, Clint caught a glimpse of a tattoo on her left wrist and felt his heart twist in his chest.

In black cursive, was his name, the tail of the n at the end of _Clinton_ trailing into a tiny heart, colored in with bright red ink.

How could he have forgotten about her?

When his parents died, and he and Barney were shoveled into an Iowa state group home, Zoey was the only light in his dark, depressing life.

They spent all their time together, either learning how to fight and stuff from Barney, or hiding from the 'caretakers' under the second floor staircase or in the attic above the girls bedroom.

He could almost hear her voice as she read him _The Hobbit_ and _The Lord of The Rings._

Without her, he wouldn't have a clue why Stark called him Legolas.

At twelve years old, Clint knew without a doubt he loved her.

He never wanted to leave her, but his stupid brother convinced him to, only to abandon him a week into their stay with the circus.

And seeing her now, he never wanted to leave her again.

"Hey," she called to him from her seat two chairs away as she stubbed out her smoke in the ashtray, and his eyes shot up to hers as she asked, "Are you okay?"

He ran a hand over his face as he sighed.

Where should he start?

Would she even believe it was him?

"Yeah..." He sighed, sipping his beer and setting it on the bar before he added in a mumble, "Promise."

She smiled, more to herself as he noticed the way she looked longingly down at her inked wrist.

But not a minute later, her head shot up in surprise, like it did all those years ago, and with her beautiful unique colored eyes going wide, she practically fell out of her chair as she exclaimed, "OH MY FUCKING GOD! ITS YOU!"

Zoey crashed into him as Clint stood from his chair, and as he wrapped his arms around her, he felt the heartbreaking sobs starting to hit her hard.

"I thought I would never see you again..." She mumbled into the collar of his leather jacket, her arms up around his neck, and Clint chuckled as he replied, "Is that why my name is on your wrist?"

She giggled with a sniffle as she pulled back enough to look up at him, only 5'5" in her black converses, and as she caressed his cheek with that hand, letting him cover it with his, Zoey smirked as she answered, "Well when the man I love is supposedly dead, this is as close to having a ring on my finger as I could think of."

"I should never had let Barney talk me into leaving. I'm so sorry Zo, I-"

He wanted to tell her how leaving her there all those years ago was the worst mistake of his life, how he regretted it more than anything he did under Loki's mind control, but he was cut short by her soft lips pressed against his.

And he couldn't be happier.


	5. Tony & Corrine

For one time in his life, Tony Stark had no idea how to handle what he was seeing.

He could comprehend aliens flying through Midtown, but not this.

She was right there, just out of his reach as she mingled with the rich investors and benefactors at the evening's fundraiser for the orphanage housing all of the kids who were left without families after the Chitauri attack, looking as stunning as he remembered in her backless, floor length red gown, the glittery material hugging her every curve.

What was she doing in New York? And at this swanky benefit party?

She couldn't have come alone.

He hadn't. Pepper was sipping her champagne at the table with Natasha and Jane Foster behind him at the table with the rest of the Avengers & Company.

And not a moment ago as he waited for his drink at the bar, Tony watched a little boy, no older than three or four years old, run over to her to be scooped up in her waiting arms.

Only when the boy made eye contact with him over her shoulder did it register in Tony's brain.

_That's my son!_

* * *

><p><em><strong>February, 2010<strong>_

_**Los Angeles, California**_

_Tony sat up in the hotel bed with a slight groan, holding an arm up to block the sun coming in the window from his eyes. _

_Looking around, he knew this wasn't his suite. It was way too small for his taste._

_But when his eyes landed on her, still asleep tangled in the sheets next to him, he remembered, he hadn't been alone on Valentine's day._

_He smirked as he laid back down next to Corrine, grazing the bare skin of her ribs down to her hip where the black silk bed sheet draped across her lower half with the tips of his fingers, running his hand down her side. She was turned with her back facing him, but at the slightest touch, she rolled onto her other side, momentarily exposing her naked torso to him before she tucked into his bare chest and sighed with contentment in her sleep._

_As he put his arm around her, Tony placed a kiss on her forehead and threaded his hands into her onyx tresses that tumbled down over her bare shoulders and down her back, before falling back asleep. _

_That was the first time Tony Stark had ever stayed with someone after a night like that._

_She wasn't just another one night stand, Tony knew that the second he laid eyes on her, downing shots of Jameson at the bar in a stunning black dress that didn't leave much to the imagination. _

_He would always remember Corrine, even if he didn't take the time to find out her last name before they were making out and groping in the elevator and falling onto her bed together._

_Because it was him that woke up alone later that morning, the only trace of her ever being there was the note on her empty pillow.  
><em>

_**I had a great time, Tony. **_

_**Maybe I'll see you again sometime.**_

* * *

><p>And now, Corrine was right there, less than ten yards away across the ballroom, holding their son as she laughed at someone's joke.<p>

Tony had been holding himself back, but when he heard that laugh again, and saw that infectious smile he still dreamed of, his feet were moving before he could stop himself.

The boy staring at him over Corrine's shoulder hadn't looked away from him.

With every step closer to them, Tony could see more and more of himself in the little boy's eyes, his dark brown hair, but the smile he broke into as Tony approached, now that was all Corrine.

He stood there, a few feet behind her, before the boy waved a tiny hand at him and whispered to his mother to get her to turn around.

Tony watched as she turned to face him, the smile for her son fading as her eyes landed of his father, and the genius's breath caught in his throat as her heard her voice for real for the first time in years.

"Hello Tony."

"Corrine, I-" He started, but she held up a finger for him to stop.

"We should talk." she turned her attention to the little boy on her hip, dragging his gaze from Tony to her as she put him down and said, "Wyatt baby, you have to go back to Miss Lisa at the table, okay? Please, for mommy?"

"Okay mommy…" he replied, only smiling once she kissed his cheek, and then ran off in the other direction.

She glanced at Tony, who watched the whole exchange between them in awe, before the clicks of her heels lead him away from the crowded party onto the small terrace at the back of the venue.

When they were alone, Corrine's bright blue eyes met Tony's dark chocolate, and after a moment of semi awkward silence, her arms were around his neck as she hugged him tightly.

His hands found their way to the small of her exposed back, just above the material of her dress, as she whispered into his neck, "I'm sorry. When I found out you weren't dead, I should've called and told you."

Pulling away enough to look at her, Tony asked barely above a whisper, "Why didn't you?"

"Oh come on Tony," she laughed as she evidently became defensive, "You're you! You've probably had girls claiming to have your children all the time back then! I was pregnant, with all those insane hormones... Truth is, I was scared. I didn't think you would want to see me again, and when when I found out, you were supposively dead in Afghanistan!"

She looked up from her feet as he finished, "Now you're an Avenger, you saved the world, and you have a son who turns four in October."

"Will you tell me about him?" Tony asked after a moment of silence, still holding her close to him, and Corrine laid her cheek against the collar of his suit by his pocket square.

"His name is Wyatt Anthony Stark. He absolutely loves you guys, almost obsessed really. He looks more like you then like me, like a little mini clone of you without the facial hair. And he's smart Tony, so damn smart sometimes it's scary." She was beaming as she told him about their son, her heart swelling as much as his as Corrine watched Tony smile brighter than she'd ever seen.

God, she loved him. She didn't want to, but she did, even if it hurt that he would never love her like that.  
>She'd barely known him for two hours before stumbling up to her hotel room, for fuck's sake!<br>Still, that hadn't stopped her from getting the outline of the famous arc reactor tattooed on her hip in the wake of the attack on New York.  
>He might respect her now, as the mother of his child and not just some one night stand, but he couldn't love her. He hardly knew her.<p>

Fuck, he loved her. He realized he had since the moment he laid eyes on her that night, before he ever met Pepper or the team or any of that.  
>He'd always loved Corrine, he dreamed about her all the time!<br>What he felt for Pep, even after everything they'd been through, didn't even come close in comparison to what he had always felt for Corrine.  
>He'd dreamed of the chance to see her again, passing by on the sidewalk, bumping into her at the Starbucks on the corner, or somewhere on the beach in Malibu, but here, now, at this party, with his goddamn son just inside, Tony knew this was his chance.<p>

She looked up at his deep brown eyes from her place on his chest, leaning into his embrace as his interlocked hands rested on her open back, and before he could overthink it anymore, his lips were covering hers.

She melted into him, despite her best attempts to talk herself out of it.

Corrine wasn't stupid. She knew he was with someone else, someone better.

What she couldn't wrap her head around was why he would risk it all for her.

A thought crossed her mind, but she quickly shook it away, pushing away from him gently with her hands on his chest and tears in the corners of her eyes.

"I should go..." Corrine said just above a whisper, blinking back tears as she tried to walk away, only to be stopped by his hand on her wrist.

"Corrine, I..." He started, looking down at her hand as he laced his fingers with hers, her bright red nails distracting him momentarily.

"I won't be a homewrecker, Tony. There's too much at risk, for the both of us. I'm happy if you want to be a part of your son's life, that's great! I'll be okay knowing you're happy, even if it's with someone else, but I won't sneak around. I won-"

"Goddammit Corrine, it's you! It's always been you, I just had no idea how to find you! I can't lose you again, or Wyatt. I'm sure Pepper will understand... I need you. I always have." Tony argued, watching the tears well up in her eyes before she exploded in anger, throwing her hands up as she shouted, "THEN FUCKING SAY IT! YOU WOULDN'T RISK EVERYTHING FOR ME IF YOU KNEW YOU DIDNT!"

He was stunned, she could read him like a fucking book.

"FINE! I LOVE YOU! I ALWAYS FUCKING HAVE! AND YOU LEFT!" Tony shouted back, only for her to instantly close the distance between them and smash her lips into his.

God, it was like that night all over again.

A half drunk shouting match, leading to a wild makeout session.

She smiled when she finally pulled away, thanking herself for wearing lip stain instead of her usual red lipstick, before taking his hand again as she said, "Come on, let's go meet your son. And just a quick warning, he's probably your biggest fan."

"Really?" He asked in disbelief as she led him back inside, ignoring the looks from Bruce and Steve at the bar as they passed and stopped at a small table on the opposite side of the ballroom, where a younger girl, who looked a lot like Corrine, sat with Wyatt in her lap as he drank out of an Iron Man sippy cup.

That must be 'miss Lisa', he assumed, probably her younger sister or something.

The boy smiled as he saw her, holding his arms up for Corrine to hold him, and as she set him on her hip, she whispered something in his ear that made his brown eyes, identical to Tony's, go wide and his head turn to stare at his father, before breaking into the world's brightest smile.

Hesitantly, Tony took the few steps over to the two of them, and when his son held his arms out to him the way he had just done with his mom not a minute before, Tony Stark was instantly in love with this kid, his kid he reminded himself.

He held back tears as he naturally held his son with newfound ease, who hugged him tightly around his neck with his tiny arms, and looking to the love of his life, he could see Corrine carefully wiping her tears without smudging her makeup.

"You're really my dad?" The clone of him in his arms asked as he pulled back enough to stare up at him, and Tony chuckled as he said, "Yeah buddy, I'm your dad."

Wyatt smiled before he leaned in to whisper, "And you're really Iron Man? Mommy said it was a big secret."

"Your mom's right. But don't tell anyone!" He answered with a laugh, smiling to Corrine as his son nodded enthusiastically, zipped his mouth, threw away the imaginary key, and hugged him tight and she beamed her breathtaking smile back at me.

'Marry me.' Tony mouthed to Corrine as she locked eyes with him, holding their son as he started to doze off in his dad's arms.

'Maybe someday.' She mouthed back with a wicked smile, the one that trapped him last time they were together, and he returned it with his own mischievous smirk.

"God, I fucking love you."

"Language, Tony." Corrine laughed as she pulled out two chairs and sat in one, the two men in her life taking the other.


End file.
